------ "...it is finished..." -- John 19:30 ------

Saturday, November 24, 2007

ENTRY 3: Careers/Unstable Futures

I fear for my brother.

I fear that his life is in jeopardy. Not in any conventional way, mind you; to the best of my knowledge nobody is hiding behind some corner, or sneaking into his apartment complex with a loaded gun and a desire for blood. But there IS a growing army of unsettlingly powerful people with chips on their shoulders. And who knows, there may BE, in one form or another, in their hearts a desire for blood.

My brother is presently teaching Grade 8 math, history, and English at an "academic" school in a decidedly rich neighborhood. His classes consist of an alarming majority of aloof teenagers with way too much money stuffed into their back pockets. My brother tries to challenge them in a school that is content with handing out straight A's like it was some sort of twisted charity, and the result has been an all-time low in class averages. Parents are all up in arms, despite my brother's incessant and repeated attempts in the past to open a forum of discourse. He has held daily extra help sessions; students have been indifferent and have not attended. He assigns homework; the students are indifferent and refuse to complete it. The end result is that the students are failing and their parents are enraged at my brother. Consequently, the administration is not happy.

All possible outcomes for this situation are not positive. Either my brother stays the course, and the parents -- many of them powerful figures in the society: doctors and lawyers -- force the administration to fire my brother, or my brother bends and hands the students marks they in no way, shape, or form deserve -- and in doing so, is forced to reliquish his integrity. Additionally, there would still be the very real threat of dismissal.

An almost impossible decision: do you continue to be a good teacher, or do you keep your job?

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In other news -- and I'm quite excited -- I've applied to the Toronto Film College for the Scriptwriting Diploma. It would be 8 months of classes (this is my understanding), but aside from that I do not know much. Information is apparently being sent either via regular mail or e-mail; I wait for it with eagerness and apprehension. Will I be accepted? If not, what then? If so, will it be a successful venture?

Out of all these questions, I have the answer to only one: if I do get accepted, I will fight tooth and tail, sacrifice blood, sweat and tears to make sure that is will be a successful venture.

Labels: brother, careers, film school, michael, teaching

finished by Carter @ 11:38 PM

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